Conservative William Kristol becomes NY Times columnist

NEW YORK (Reuters) - William Kristol, a prominent conservative pundit and magazine editor, has signed on as a columnist for The New York Times, a publication he has often sharply criticized, the newspaper announced on Saturday.

Kristol, 55, is the editor and co-founder of The Weekly Standard, a Washington political magazine with a strongly conservative viewpoint.

He regularly appears on Fox News, and served as Vice President Dan Quayle's chief of staff during the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

Kristol, a staunch supporter of the war in Iraq, will write his first weekly column for the January 7 issue, the Times said.

Just last year Kristol promoted the idea that the federal government prosecute the newspaper for disclosing details about its program tracking international financial transactions. Prior to that he wrote that the paper was "irredeemable," the Times noted in its announcement.

The Times is owned by The New York Times Company, a leading media company with 2006 revenues of $3.3 billion including the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe and 15 other dailies.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Mohammad Zargham)